1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to checkout systems such as employed for supermarkets and other retail outlets. The present invention further relates to pattern recognition systems and methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
Bar code scanning systems are ubiquitous in supermarket checkouts and other checkout systems in various retail outlets. This type of product identification and pricing for checkout systems is extremely effective and has revolutionized retail checkouts both in speed and accuracy. Bar code handling at retail checkouts has also enabled detailed inventory control. Nonetheless bar codes are not well-suited for certain types of articles and certain types of applications. Most notable of these applications where bar codes are not well-suited is the identification and pricing of produce, i.e., fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products, at supermarket checkouts. The handling of produce is not well suited to bar code systems since supermarket shoppers are typically free to purchase produce in varying quantities based on weight or number of items. Therefore, while some produce is prepackaged and bar coded the majority of produce is handled as loose collections of variable numbers of items.
To handle such variable collections of produce, checkout personnel must either memorize a lengthy list of prices or produce codes or consult printed tables. Both procedures are potentially prone to error and much slower than the handling of bar coded products. Therefore, produce handling at supermarket checkouts represents both a time bottleneck and a source of error in the handling of a high volume of supermarket checkout items. This time problem may require additional checkout aisles to be opened, and additional employees to be occupied at the checkouts, to provide a desired degree of throughput. Also, to reduce error the training involved in handling of produce at supermarket checkouts is greater than required for handling of bar coded products. Where a high turnaround of supermarket checkout personnel is experienced, this additional training can introduce higher employee costs and possible lost revenues.
Another apparently unrelated problem with supermarket handling of produce relates to customer preferential selection of produce, produce restocking and spoilage. Many types of produce quite quickly show signs of ripening which make them less desirable to customers than freshly stocked less ripened produce. Customers will select the less ripened produce preferentially over even slightly more ripened produce leaving the slightly more ripened produce on the shelf to ultimately spoil. Although the produce may not be restocked until most of the existing produce is gone, some unnecessary spoilage will inevitably result. Also, if this approach to the problem is adopted, the selection may be quite limited and of apparently poor quality just before the produce is restocked. This is obviously undesirable where produce quality and freshness is part of the marketing and competitiveness of a supermarket. Therefore, supermarkets are faced with the undesirable choice of either frequent restocking to maintain a fresh appearance to the produce but with spoilage and waste or less frequent restocking for less waste but a less fresh overall appearance. A similar problem exists for produce having slight bruises, imperfect shape, or other imperfections. Again customers will preferentially select the higher quality produce leaving the less perfect produce on the shelves to ultimately spoil. Again supermarkets can either accept the wastage and frequently restock for a high quality appearance or restock less frequently for less wastage but poorer appearance. This apparently inevitable trade off between waste and appearance of quality is clearly a highly undesirable situation for the handling of produce in supermarkets.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that a need presently exists for an improved approach to the handling of identification and pricing of produce at supermarkets.